Foundation Stage 1 Welcome Letter

Dear Parents and Carers,

A very warm welcome to all of you joining Foundation Stage 1 (FS-1)! We do hope you had an enjoyable summer break and we are looking forward to meeting you all. To our new families, welcome to DBIS!

Meet the Team

The Foundation Stage 1 consists of three classroom teachers and three Educational Assistants. We are a dedicated team who wish to ensure your child has the best start to their learning journey.

Farm Class

Teacher – Ms Laura Bell, FS-1 Year Group Leader

Educational Assistant- Ms Janet Escueta

Starlight Class

Teacher – Mrs Chloe Foster, Maths and Experiential Curriculum Lead FS1-Year 2

Educational Assistant – Ms Mari Collier

Seaside Class

Teacher – Mrs Deirdre McCarthy

Educational Assistant – Ms Roshini Ramalingam

School Uniform

School uniform is an important part of children feeling a sense of belonging and pride in our school; it is also a compulsory requirement, apart from small stud earrings and a simple watch. Jewellery should not be worn to school. We will ask children to remove necklaces, bracelets and other accessories as they do not form part of the school uniform and can risk their safety. Please be aware that smartwatches are not permitted (or equivalent) at school. Any accessories will be returned to parents and carers at the end of the school day. Link to uniform here: DBIS school uniform

Parent and Teacher Conferences

Your first FS-1 Parent Teacher Conference will take place on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th August. You should have received an email about booking a timeslot. If you have not yet done so, please speak to your child’s class teacher.

Class Parents

Class parents are important in Discovery Bay International School’s community and culture. This role greatly benefits everyone within a class, assisting the teacher in various ways throughout the year. Class parents are parent volunteers who take on the role at the beginning of each new school year. This role is not limited to one person; ideally, each class should have two class parents.

Some of the suggested activities that class parents may wish to be involved in are:

Communicating with the other parents in the class
Welcoming new families and farewell those leaving
Organising social gatherings for their class

Please speak to your class teacher if you are interested in this role. The class teachers genuinely appreciate the support from class parents throughout the year.

Pick-Up Procedures – Photo ID Cards

During dismissal, our prime concern is to ensure every child gets collected by the right adult and returns home safely and happily. Therefore, we have a system that must be adhered to.

Please inform your child’s class teacher of the adults that might collect your child during your initial PTC. Please ensure all of these adults have a DBIS photo ID card. If you have not registered for these, please contact [email protected] to register.

Please collect your child from our classroom door. When you collect your child, you must show your DBIS photo ID. We will check your ID against the list of named adults that you have provided us with. This process might take longer than normal in the initial weeks as class teachers get used to faces; thank you for your patience.

If your child is going on a playdate after school, please inform class teachers before midday of the name of the adult collecting them; this is best communicated through the EYFS campus office, using [email protected], or via Seesaw. Upon arrival, your child’s class teacher will check the named adult’s photo ID before releasing your child.

The dismissal process is taken extremely seriously at DBIS, and teachers will ask for the photo ID every time your child is dismissed. Any adult who cannot show the DBIS photo ID card must sign their child out, even once faces are familiar to us. Strict adherence to these protocols is in the interest of your child’s safety, and we appreciate your support.

Chatter Tubes

We are looking forward to learning more about each child through their Chatter Tube. Please bring in your Chatter Tube during their first week of school beginning Thursday 17th August.

Home Readers

Throughout the year, your child will take home reading books. This is an opportunity for your child to practise the skills they have been working on in school. Reading at home should be a positive experience for your child where they can continue to build confidence and support their application of skills. We will share more information about this before sending out books. To support home reading, we kindly ask for you to provide two named A3 plastic zip folders. The children will bring home their reading book and Library book in these each week.

FS-1 Parent Welcome

On Wednesday 16th August we will be hosting our FS-1 Parent Welcome which will take place at 9:00-9:45 am at the EYFS Campus.

Teaching & Learning

Please make yourself familiar with the following documents, available on the DBIS Hub. This will enable you to understand the curriculum and the transition into Foundation Stage 1:

Class Welcome Letters

Attached you will find personalised FS-1 Welcome Letters for each class which include important information about FS-1 school life.

Farm: Farm Welcome Letter 2023-24 (1)

Starlight: Starlight Welcome Letter 2023-24

Seaside: Seaside Welcome Letter 2023-24

It is a very exciting time of year for all of us, the FS-1 Team is really looking forward to getting to know our families. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Thank you for your support and we look forward to working in partnership with you.

Kind regards,

The FS-1 Team